Musings From Abroad

US troops to complete withdrawal from Niger’s Air Base

Published

4 months ago

July 6, 2024

According to a United States general on Friday, the US military will finish removing its soldiers from Niger’s Air Base 101 in the capital on Sunday and will next concentrate on leaving a significant drone base in the upcoming weeks.

Following a coup in the West African nation last year, the junta in Niger ordered the United States to remove its almost 1,000 soldiers from the country in April, causing Washington to face an embarrassing defeat.

Before the coup, Niger had played a significant role in the United States’ campaign against militants in the Sahel region of Africa, who had caused millions of people to be displaced and thousands of deaths. Though the process is taking a while, officials in Washington warn that American intelligence on the rapidly expanding extremist groups in the region is waning. Washington is looking for a Plan B in West Africa.

Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman, who is in Niger to oversee the withdrawal, announced that a ceremony will take place on Sunday night to officially close Air Base 101 for the United States. In the nation’s capital, Niamey, the base is situated close to Diori Hamani International Airport.

“We will do a joint ceremony on that occasion that marks the departure of the last U.S. C-17 (aircraft). The government of Niger will assume control of former U.S. areas and facilities,” Ekman said, speaking by video conference.

Russia has sent military personnel to the same base as the United States is leaving, and they are conducting training exercises there. Ekman emphasized that he has obtained guarantees from Niger that the forces of the two countries will remain apart, despite claims made by US officials that there has been no communication between American and Russian servicemen there.

“When I last talked to a Nigerian interlocutor, he quantified the presence of Russian forces as under 100. And he also talked about when the Russians are done training them, they have told the Russians that they have to go home,” Ekman said.

Troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have conducted coups since 2020, accusing civilian leaders of facilitating the advance of Islamist extremists. Juntas have broken defence pacts with US, French, and UN forces once they have taken control. The military government of Niger has given the United States until September 15th to withdraw its forces. This includes withdrawing from a $100 million drone base close to Agadez in central Niger, which had supplied vital intelligence regarding organizations associated with the Islamic State and al Qaeda.

Musings From Abroad

In 6 months, Nigerians spent over $2.38 million on medical tourism

Published

2 days ago

October 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a recent report, Nigerians spent over $2.38 million on international healthcare services between January and June 2024.

The amount spent on social and health-related services under the sectoral use of foreign money supports this, according to a study released by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The report’s breakdown shows that $2.3 million was spent in January, $0.00 million in February, $0.01 million in March, $0.00 million in April, $0.05 million in May, and $0.02 million in June.

According to our reporter, the first half of 2023 saw higher spending on overseas healthcare-related services than the second half, which ran from July to December and totalled $0.69 million.

The amount spent from January to June of this year increased by $1.69 million, according to the development. However, there was a $0.75 million decrease from the $3.13 million number for the first half of 2023.

President Bola Tinubu claimed that the outbound medical tourism tendency would be reversed when he launched the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, a healthcare expansion program that would retrain 120,000 frontline healthcare personnel.

According to Tanimola Akande, a former National Chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria and a professor of public health at the University of Ilorin in Kwara State, the CBN’s reported rise in medical tourism costs is a sign that a significant amount of hard currency is still being spent on medical care abroad.

Over hundred thousand frontline healthcare workers would receive retraining as President Bola Tinubu launched the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, a healthcare growth program.

Akande emphasised that “elites frequently promote medical tourism.” This suggests that the cost of medical tourism in Nigeria has not significantly decreased despite recent investments in first-rate private healthcare facilities.

“The money spent on medical tourism, if channelled to improving local health facilities, will go a long way to reduce medical tourism in Nigeria.

“The government should continue to promote investment in quality healthcare services in Nigeria. The government also needs to do a lot more to reduce the brain drain challenge and provide an enabling environment for high-class quality health care to flourish in Nigeria.”

Musings From Abroad

Saudi Arabia, Egypt strengthen investment ties, call for Gaza truce

Published

7 days ago

October 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During discussions in Cairo on Tuesday, Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, called for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

The meeting also marked the beginning of a strengthen economic and investment cooperation.

According to Egypt’s presidency, the leaders observed the formation of a supreme coordination committee between Riyadh and Cairo to further collaboration, as well as the signing of an agreement to promote and safeguard mutual investments between the two nations.

The visit is taking place amid rumours regarding possible Saudi investments in Egypt, which this year has seen a significant inflow of outside funding, including a $35 billion transaction with the UAE sovereign fund ADQ.

In 2022, the crown prince, also referred to as MbS paid his final official visit to Egypt. Saudi Arabia, which had previously given Sisi’s Egypt financial help, later said it was going to start investing instead of giving allies direct assistance.

According to a statement released by the president on Tuesday, the two leaders discussed efforts to strengthen economic ties between Cairo and Riyadh, with a focus on trade, investment, and economic integration in the transportation, energy, and tourist sectors.

According to the presidency, the leaders also spoke about regional events, specifically the circumstances in Gaza and Lebanon, and “they demanded to start taking steps to reach calm that include a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.”

By Tuesday afternoon, Egypt’s government dollar bonds had gained the most, with longer-dated maturities seeing the biggest gains. By 11:28 GMT, the 2059 maturity gained 1.73 cents, bidding at 77.80 cents on the dollar.

Last month, the prime minister of Egypt declared that Saudi Arabia intended to spend $5 billion in Egypt, separate and apart from the money the Gulf state had already placed in the Egyptian central bank.

Two tourist development locations on Egypt’s Red Sea coast and in the country’s southern Sinai peninsula—both of which are across Saudi Arabia—are potential investment destinations.

In order to address a protracted economic crisis that has resulted in record inflation, a mounting debt load, and significant currency devaluations over the last two years, Egypt has been actively pursuing substantial investments.